Walgreens is coming along

If you’ve been by the corner of East Houston and Navarro streets lately, you’ve probably noticed that the Walgreens is starting to take shape.

They’ve attached the signage. The brick facade seems to all be in place. The most prominent difference between the two versions of the drug store seems to be the addition of the large windows facing Navarro Street. The previous Walgreens only had windows facing Houston Street.

Mike Wallace, project manager of C.W. Mitchell & Sons Inc., said they should have the building done by the end of December or early January.

That’s not when the Walgreen’s will open, though. There will still be plenty of work to be done on the interior.

“Walgreens has not committed to an opening date,” said Jackie Mallette, property manager with Reata Real Estate Services, who added she should know more in the coming weeks.

The previous Walgreens closed on Jan. 31 because the property’s owners, Federal Realty, decided new digs were in order. The previous building was built in the late 1800s. The Walgreens and the adjoining Stuarts building were demolished earlier this year. According to a Feb. 1 Express-News article about the store’s closing (“A Convenient Store Closes”), the new Walgreens was scheduled to be up and running in 18 months. That would put the opening some time in July.

That’s the Walgreens. There are still plenty of new spaces to be filled above and next to the drug store.

The second floor of the new Walgreens building will be office space occupied by the Nix Hospital. There are rumors that Carmens de la Calle, the tapas and live music hangout right off the St. Mary’s Street strip on East Mistletoe Avenue, will expand and occupy the space next to the Walgreens facing Houston Street. Mallette said that space has not been leased, yet.

It sounds like there will be more details in the next few weeks. I’ll let you know when I know.